Bait buckets for holding and transporting live bait such as minnows, leeches and the like are well known in prior art. Live bait must generally be kept in water in order to preserve the bait in a condition best suited for use.
The problems associated with prior art bait buckets include that the bait contained in the buckets is hard to catch because it is contained in water, allowing it to move easily and quickly about the bait buckets to avoid capture; the wet hands and arms caused by retrieving live bait in the water of the bait buckets; the lack of separate compartments for holding two types of bait within the same bait bucket without mixing the live bait; and, finally, most prior art bait buckets require the angler to use two hands to open and retrieve bait.
The result of the above problems is that anglers must often drop their fishing rods to open a bait bucket with both hands, stick their arms and/or hands into the water in the bucket and experience the frustration associated with trying to catch live bait by hand in the water. In addition, many anglers must also use two or more bait buckets to carry different types or sizes of live bait.
Although a majority of prior art bait bucket patents have addressed one or more of the problems associated with bait buckets, none of the prior art bait buckets have addressed all of the above problems.
As a result, a need exists for a bait bucket which provides easy, single-handed access to the live bait contained within while keeping the anglers from placing their arms and hands in the water contained in the bait bucket to maintain the life of the live bait.